Brienne Tarth is the only daughter and heiress of Lord Selwyn Tarth of Evenfall Hall; she had three siblings, none of which survived childhood. Larger and stronger than most men, Brienne is a skilled warrior and longs to be a knight. She has an awkward personality, but is also honest and stubborn. She holds a naïvely idealized notion of knighthood despite the insults she receives from many knights, who call her "Brienne the Beauty" to mock her ugliness. She is also known as "Brienne, the Maid of Tarth", but her most common and neutral nickname is "Brienne of Tarth", as she is both from the House and island of Tarth.

Appearance

Brienne is abnormally large and strong for a woman, and exceeds most men in size. She has large, very blue eyes that appear trusting and guileless, but they are her only attractive feature. She is extremely broad-shouldered, but has virtually no bust. Her face is broad and coarse, with a nose that has been broken several times. Her mouth is too wide, with prominent and crooked teeth and lips so plump they seem swollen. Her hair is the color of dirty straw and her face is mottled with freckles.

History

Brienne won a position in the Rainbow Guard of Renly Baratheon, with whom she was infatuated. She was present when he was murdered, and was falsely accused of the crime. She fled with and entered the service of Catelyn Stark. At the Tully castle of Riverrun, Catelyn ordered Brienne to escort the imprisoned Jaime Lannister to King's Landing, hoping to exchange him for Catelyn's captive daughters.

She and Jaime were captured by the Brave Companions, and during their captivity the two developed a grudging respect for each other. After Catelyn's death, Jaime entrusted Brienne with the Valyrian steel longsword given to him by his father, naming it Oathkeeper, and sent her out to seek the vanished Sansa Stark.

Looking for Sansa, Brienne wandered the Riverlands, where she crossed paths with members of the disbanded Brave Companions. Using Oathkeeper, Brienne managed to kill Pyg, Shagwell and Timeon at the Whispers. At a crossroads near the Trident, Brienne fought another group of Brave Companions led by Rorge, who had been masquerading as Sandor Clegane and ravaging the Saltpans. Brienne killed Rorge, but was grievously wounded by Biter. After Gendry rescued her from Biter, he and the remaining Brotherhood Without Banners took her captive. The undead Catelyn Stark, now leading the Brotherhood as Lady Stoneheart, did not believe Brienne's tale of her search for Sansa, and ordered her to kill Jaime or face execution. Brienne refused to choose and was sentenced to hang. She shouted a single word as she hanged, but no clear confirmation of her death was given and her fate is unknown.

Brienne is one of the very few in Westeros to have current and accurate information about Arya Stark's fate.